Sojourner Truth Ulster County, New York Born: 1797 Background: I was born into slavery in 1797 in Ulster County, New York. My parents, James and Elizabeth Baumfree, named me Isabella Baumfree. As a child I spoke only Dutch. After my first master, Colonel Johannes Hardenbergh, died I was sold and owned by four other slave owners until I became a free African-American in 1826. On June 1, 1843 I changed my name to Sojourner Truth, and decided to travel as an itinerant preacher speaking about the truth and working against injustice. Objectives: I am an abolitionist and a women’s rights activist. I preached about the abolition of slavery and women’s rights, I use personal evidence in my speeches about my experiences from when I was a slave. Although I am unable to read or write I am a very powerful speaker and a motivational figure. Accomplishments: My most famous speech is “Ain’t I a Woman?” which I presented in Akron, Ohio at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1854. I met many reformers and abolitionists during my traveling, such as Amy Post, Parker Pillsbury, Frances Dana Gage, Wendell Philips, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and many others. I also met and worked with abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and David Ruggles. I was employed by the National Freedman’s Relief Association in Washington DC, and I met President Abraham Lincoln. Activities/Associations: I joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry in Massachusetts in 1844, which was an association created by abolitionists to promote cooperative and productive labor. The association strongly supported anti-slavery, religious tolerance, women’s rights, and pacifistic principles. I was employed by the National Freedman’s Relief Association in 1864. References: My good friend Olive Gilbert wrote a biography about me after I told her about all my memoirs. The biography was called Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave. William Lloyd Garrison helped by publishing the book. The biography helped me become more known so I could give more speeches, and it also helped me financially. Without Olive Gilbert I wouldn’t have gotten this far. I met Elijah Pierson, a religious reformer, at the Methodist Church I attended. He introduced me to his house which was sometimes called the “Kingdom.” Elijah encouraged me to preach, he is the one who got me started. Sources: "Sojourner Truth A Life and Legacy of Faith." Sojourner Truth.org Home Page. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.sojournertruth.org/Library/Archive/LegacyOfFaith.htm>. "Sojourner Truth biography." LakewoodPublic Library (Lakewood, Ohio). Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/trut-soj.htm>.
Ulster County, New York
Born: 1797
Background:
I was born into slavery in 1797 in Ulster County, New York. My parents, James and Elizabeth Baumfree, named me Isabella Baumfree. As a child I spoke only Dutch. After my first master, Colonel Johannes Hardenbergh, died I was sold and owned by four other slave owners until I became a free African-American in 1826. On June 1, 1843 I changed my name to Sojourner Truth, and decided to travel as an itinerant preacher speaking about the truth and working against injustice.
Objectives:
I am an abolitionist and a women’s rights activist. I preached about the abolition of slavery and women’s rights, I use personal evidence in my speeches about my experiences from when I was a slave. Although I am unable to read or write I am a very powerful speaker and a motivational figure.
Accomplishments:
My most famous speech is “Ain’t I a Woman?” which I presented in Akron, Ohio at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in 1854. I met many reformers and abolitionists during my traveling, such as Amy Post, Parker Pillsbury, Frances Dana Gage, Wendell Philips, Susan B. Anthony, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and many others. I also met and worked with abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and David Ruggles. I was employed by the National Freedman’s Relief Association in Washington DC, and I met President Abraham Lincoln.
Activities/Associations:
I joined the Northampton Association of Education and Industry in Massachusetts in 1844, which was an association created by abolitionists to promote cooperative and productive labor. The association strongly supported anti-slavery, religious tolerance, women’s rights, and pacifistic principles. I was employed by the National Freedman’s Relief Association in 1864.
References:
My good friend Olive Gilbert wrote a biography about me after I told her about all my memoirs. The biography was called Narrative of Sojourner Truth: A Northern Slave. William Lloyd Garrison helped by publishing the book. The biography helped me become more known so I could give more speeches, and it also helped me financially. Without Olive Gilbert I wouldn’t have gotten this far.
I met Elijah Pierson, a religious reformer, at the Methodist Church I attended. He introduced me to his house which was sometimes called the “Kingdom.” Elijah encouraged me to preach, he is the one who got me started.
Sources:
"Sojourner Truth A Life and Legacy of Faith." Sojourner Truth.org Home Page. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.sojournertruth.org/Library/Archive/LegacyOfFaith.htm>.
"Sojourner Truth biography." Lakewood Public Library (Lakewood, Ohio). Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/trut-soj.htm>.